Garage door operator



Much 29, 1966 s. TAYLOR GARAGE DOOR OPERATOR Filed May 26; 1964 INVENTQRSTAN LEY TAYLO R ATTORNE S Unit d a e m mi 3,243,176 GARAGE DOOROPERATOR Stanley Taylor, 17324 2nd A'vet, White Rock,

British Columbia, Canada Filed May 26, 1964, Ser No. 370,309 3 Claims.(Cl. 268-37) This invention relates to an apparatus for automaticallyoperating a vertically swingable door, especially a garage door, betweenthe open and closed positions.

It is appreciated that heretofore mechanisms have been devised operableby either movement of or the weight of a vehicle to open a garage door.However, such mechanisms have relied upon systems of counterbalancingweights or springs in order to make the opening and closing of the doorfully automatic. These mechanisms are very costly and are susceptible toderangement and must be very carefully balanced in order to operateproperly. The present invention overcomes these difliculties byproviding a mechanism in which the counterbalancing weight necessary toclose the door from its open position is simply the weight of the dooritself and, which by the use of a very simple system of levers, isrelatively easy to assemble and adjust.

The present invention consists of an automatically operated verticallys'wingable door, comprising a base, a pair of end abutting platformmembers arranged to protrude on both sides of the door below the bottomedge thereof, said platform members being slidably hinged at theabutting ends thereof and being hingedly secured to the base at theother ends thereof, an arm extending from one of the members inwardly ofthe door, and a pivotally supported lever hingedly secured to the doorat one end and linked to the arm. at the other end, whereby when theplatform members are depressed by a weight thereon, the door swingsupwardly into an open position, said door closing by gravity and raisingthe platform members when the weight is removed.

In the drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention,

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the door applied to a garage showing thedoor in open position in dotted lines, and

FIGURE 2 is an isometric view of the door assembly.

Referring to the drawings, generally represents a garage showing only aportion of the framing thereof and 12 a garage door of the overhead typebeing shiftable between its closed position as shown in solid lines inFIG- URE 1, and its open position .as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 1.

Extending upwardly and biased outwardly from the upper edge 14 of thedoor is a pair of U-shaped supports 16 carrying rotors 18 which engage apair of spaced tracks 20, said tracks being secured at their outer ends22 to an upper portal member 24 and running inwardly of the garage 10,their inner ends 26 thereof being secured to an inner horizontal garageframe member 27. By referring to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that thetracks extending substantially vertically upward at the outer ends 22and are curved rearwardly to a substantially horizontal position.

The door opening mechanism which is designated generally by thereference numeral 28 essentially consists of an outer platform 29hin-gedly connected to an inner platform 30 for vertical movement andbeing connected to the garage door 12 by a system of levers, generallydesignated by the reference numerals 31 and 32, whereby the verticalmovement of the platforms 29 and 30 are transmitted to the door.

By referring to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that the outer platform 29consists of two elongated side members 33 and 34 disposed longitudinallyon each side of the portal 24, and being hingedly connected at theirouter ends 36 and 37 respectively, to the ends 31-1 and 39 respectively,of the lower longitudinal sills 41 and 42 of the garage 10, said sillsextending outwardly of the portal 24. The side members 33 and 34 aretransversely joined by a suitably reinforced platforrn floor 44 whichextends from the outer ends 36 and 37 of the said side members inwardlyto just inside the portal 24 whereby when the garage door 12 is in itsnormally closed position, the bottom edge thereof will rest upon theplatform floor.

The inner platform 30 is constructed in substantially the same manner asthe outer platform 29, having two parallel side members 45 and 46supporting a suitably reinforced platform floor 48, the inner ends 49and 59 of said 'side members 45 and 46 respectively, being pivotallyconnected to the sills 41 and 42 respectively, for vertical swingablemovement. The side members 45 and 46 are pierced near their outer ends52 and 53 respectively, by a transverse pin 55, the end portions 57 and58 of which project outwardly from said side members 45 and 46respectively, through longitudinal slots 60 and 61 formed in sidemembers 33 and 34 respectively, intermediately of the ends of saidlatter side members. Nuts 62 and 63 threaded on said end portions 57 and58 and bearing against the outer sides of side members 33 and 34 serveto secure the pin 55 in place. The slots 60 and 61 are of sufiicientwidth and length that the end portions 57 and 58 of the pin 55 are freeto both pivot and slide therein to permit the side members of both theouter platform and inner platform to lie supported on the floor 65 ofthe garage when the door 12 is in its normal open position, as shown bydotted lines in FIGURE 1, and to permit the platform floor 44 of theouter platform to meet the bottom edge of the door when the door is inits normal closed position as shown by solid lines in FIGURE 1.

A pair of lever arms 69 and 70 are pivoted intermediate their ends uponpintles 72 and 73 respectively, secured to structural members 75 and 76respectively, of the garage, the pivotal mounting permitting the leverarms to swing in a vertical plane about the pivotal axis between theposition shown in dotted lines and solid lines in FIGURE -1. The outerends 78 and 79 of the lever arms 69 and 70 respectively, are pivotallyconnected to each side of the door near the bottom edge thereof and theinner ends 80 and 81 are cooperatively linked to the inner ends 82 and83 re spectively, of the side members 33 and 34 by links 85 and 86respectively. The links may be relatively short lengths of plate steelor flexible cable secured to bolts 88 running transversely through eachof the side members and lever arms near their inner ends.

By referring toFIGURE 1, it will be seen that when the door is in itsnormal open position, the upper edge of the door is supported by thetracks 20 and the lower edge of the door by the outer ends 78 and 79 ofthe lever arms. As the lever arms slope outwardly from their pivotalaxis to their outer ends, the Weight of the door will tend to force saidouter ends outwardly thereby raising the inner ends 82 and 83 of theside members 33 and 34, and the platform 29 will tend to hinge upwardlyat the same time carrying platform 30 hingedly upward until the doorreaches its normally closed position. The door and platforms are sorelatively proportioned in weight that with no extra weight on eitherthe platforms 29 and 30, the door is continually urged to its normallyclosed position.

In operation, the weight of the front wheels of an automobile rolling onthe platform 29 will by its weight, move the said platform downwardlyand at the same time platform 30 being pivotally connected to platform29 will also move downwardly. The downward movement of platform 29 willcause the inner ends 82 and 83 of side mem- Patented Mar. 29, 1966 ibers 33 and 34 respectively, to move downwardly thereby depressing theinner ends 80-81 of the lever arms 69 and 70 causing the outer ends 78and 79 of the lever arms 69 and 70 respectively, to lift the door 12upwardly to its normally open position, as shown in dotted lines in FIG-URE 1. At this latter position of the door, the side members 33 and 34of the outer platform 29 and side members 45 and 46 of the innerplatform rest upon and are supported by the Hour 65 of the garage. Asthe automobile rolls forwardly, the front wheels will roll on to innerplatform 30 which will therefore hold outer platform 29 downwardly.Before the front wheels of the automobile have run otf platform 3%, therear wheels of the automobile will roll on to outer platform 29, thedoor, therefore, being held upwardly until the said rear wheels have runoff platform 30, at which time the door by its own weight will slidedownwardly into its normally closed position. When the automobile isdriven outwardly from the garage with the door in its normally closedposition, the rear wheels will contact platform 30, moving it downwardlywhich, at the same time, moves platform 20 downwardly, thereby openingthe door. The door will therefore stay open until the front wheels haverolled E said outer platform 29.

The foregoing illustrates a door opening mechanism which is especiallysuited to garages and the like, but is not necessarily confined thereto.It may be adapted for use on doors or 'ates wherever automatic openingand closing thereof is desired.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Automatic operating apparatus for a vertically swingable garage doorfor a garage having side frame members and sills, comprising a pair ofend-abutting platform members arranged to protrude on both sides of thedoor below the bottom edge thereof, said platform members being slidablyand hingedly interconnected at their abutting ends and being hingedlyconnected at their other ends to the sills, a pair of elongated armsextending from an outer one of the said platform members inwardly of andbeneath the door, a pair of elongated levers at each side of the garagepivotally supported on the side frame members for pivotal movement in avertical plane about axes intermediately their length, each of saidlevers being linked at one of its ends to an arm and at the other of itsends hingedly connected to the door at the lower edge of the latter,said levers being adapted to swing the door upwardly to an open positionwhen the platform members are depressed by a weight placed on any one ofthem, said door closing by gravity and raising the platform members whenthe weight is removed.

2. Automatic operating apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which theplatform members are arranged for movement between a horizontal positionwhen the door is fully open and an inclined position in which theirabutting ends are elevated above their other ends when the door is in afully closed position.

3. Automatic operating apparatus as claimed in claim 1 includinghorizontally extending track means at the upper edge of the door forguiding the door to a horizontal position as the latter is opened.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1950 Everitt26837 11/1954 Bacque 268--74 X

1. AUTOMATIC OPERATING APPARATUS FOR A VERTICALLY SWINGABLE GARAGE DOORFOR A GARAGE HAVING SIDE FRAME MEMBERS AND SILLS, COMPRISING A PAIR OFEND-ABUTTING PLATFORM MEMBERS ARRANGED TO PROTRUDE ON BOTH SIDES OF THEDOOR BELOW THE BOTTOM EDGE THEREOF, SAID PLATFORM MEMBERS BEING SLIDABLYAND HINGEDLY INTERCONNECTED AT THEIR ABUTTING ENDS AND BEING HINGEDLYCONNECTED AT THEIR OTHER ENDS TO THE SILLS, A PAIR OF ELONGATED ARMSEXTENDING FROM AN OUTER ONE OF THE SAID PLATFORM MEMBERS INWARDLY OF ANDBENEATH THE DOOR, A PAIR OF ELONGATED LEVERS AT EACH SIDE OF THE GARAGEPIVOTALLY SUPPORTED ON THE SIDE FRAME MEMBERS FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT IN AVERTICAL PLANE ABOUT AXES INTERMEDIATELY THEIR LENGTH, EACH OF SAIDLEVERS BEING LINKED AT ONE OF ITS ENDS TO AN ARM AND AT THE OTHER OF ITSENDS HINGEDLY CONNECTED TO THE DOOR AT THE LOWER EDGE OF THE LATTER,SAID LEVERS BEING ADAPTED TO SWING THE DOOR UPWARDLY TO AN OPEN POSITIONWHEN THE PLATFORM MEMBERS ARE DEPRESSED BY A WEIGHT PLACED ON ANY ONE OFTHEM, SAID DOOR CLOSINGLY BY GRAVITY AND RAISING THE PLATFORM MEMBERSWHEN THE WEIGHT IS REMOVED.